Ice tray



July 11, 1950 L. G. coPEMAN 2,514,475

10E TRAY Filed Aug. l0, 1948 ELE-l /m In E Nm i luuulx 4 A I INVENTOR. i, Lm/0 6. Cop-MAN I Patented July 11, 1950 ICE TRAY Lloyd G. Copeman, Metamora, Mich., assignor to Copeman Laboratories Company, Flint, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August 10, 1948, Serial No. 43,467

8 Claims. (Cl. 62-108-5) This invention relates to an ice tray, the type commonly used in domestic refrigerators for producing ice cubes.

It is an object of the invention to provide an ice tray formed of a distortable material to which ice does not readily adhere and shaped such that when the tray is distorted from its normal position, the walls of the ice cube compartments are readily separated from the ice. I accomplish this by forming the tray of single cube width with at least the side walls of each compartment having a curvilinear form so that when the tray is distorted the side walls of the compartments tend to straighten out, and in so doing become separated from the faces of the ice cubes frozen therein.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of the ice cube tray of this invention supported upon a, reinforcing plate.

Figure 2 is a top elevation of the tray showing one way in which it may be operated to remove the frozen ice cubes therefrom.

Figure 3 is the top elevation of the tray showing another manner in which the tray may be distorted to release the ice cubes.

Figure et is a, fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, showing a modified construction of the tray.

In Figure 1, I have shown a tray, generally designated as l0, which embodies the features of this invention. The tray is formed of a nonmetallic, readily distortable material, such as rubber. The side walls of the tray are spaced apart so that the tray is of single cube width along its entire length. The plurality of partitions I4 are molded integrally with the side walls and divide the tray transversely into a plurality of compartments l 8 which extend as a single row longitudinally of the tray. The rubber is preferably treated so as to provide the walls of the tray with a slippery, smooth, non-wettable surface, such as is disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,303,938.

One of the principal features of this invention resides in the contour of the walls of the tray. The walls l2 of each compartment shown in Figure 1 are in the shape of inwardly extending arcuate planes, the compartments i6 being concave at each side. The walls l2 may, however,

be shaped other than as shown in Figure 1, the

2 straighten out and thereby peel from the faces of the ice cubes when the tray is distorted.

I have also shown in Figure 1 a supporting plate i8 preferably used in conjunction with the tray l G. Plate it may be employed for imparting rigidity to the tray l0 so that it can maintain its shape when filled with water and placed within the freezing chamber of a refrigerator. Plate I8 is preferably formed of plastic and has a metallic portion 2t at the rear end thereof. The length of metallic portion '20 is roughly equivalent to the length of one compartment i6 of the tray. It will be appreciated that the rear .portion 20 of plate i8 will adhere more strongly with the metallic supporting surface of the freezing compartment of the refrigerator than the front portion 22. Likewise, the tray l i will adhere to the plate I8 more rigidly at the portion 2li than at the plastic portion 22.

When it is desired to freeze cubes in the tray l the tray is placed on plate I8 and the compartments i8 are filled with water. Thereafter, the tray is inserted within the freezing chamber of a refrigerator with the portion 2li at the rear and the portion 22 vtowards the front. After the cubes are frozen in the tray and it is desired to remove the tray and its contents from the freezing compartment, the tray is grasped at its front end and pulled outwardly. At the metallic portion 2G, plate I8 will adhere quite rmly to the supporting surface of the freezing chamber; and since the rearmost compartment will be frozen to the plate E8 more rigidly than the front compartments, the first action to occur will be an elongation of the side walls l 2 of the tray. When suicient force has been exerted, the bond between the portion 2t of the plate I3 and the supporting surface of the freezing chamber or the rear portion of the tray will be broken and the entire tray may be withdrawn from the freezing compartment. It will be noted that when the tray is stretched in this manner, the walls l2 are elongated; and at the same time, they tend to spread outwardly from their normal position so as to straighten out. In so doing, a peeling action occurs between the side walls of the forward compartments and the concave faces of the ice cubes contained therein. If the tray is removed from the freezing compartment without stretching it so as to loosen a portion of the ice cubes, the cubes may be removed by grasping the tray at each end and stretching it in an axial direction as shown in Figure 2. The bond between the faces of the cubes and the compartment walls will thereby be broken by a peeling action which occurs between the side Walls I2 of the tray and the concave faces of the ice cubes. A continued stretching in this manner effects a complete separation of all the compartment Walls from the ice cubes. It will be appreciated that the ice sepa'- ration can be effected by distorting the tray by a twisting action, such as is shown in Figure 3; that is, the tray may be grasped at each end and twisted axially. When operated in this manner Side walls I2 will again be elongated and tend to flatten out as previously described. With either mode of operation, the stretching results in a very eicient ice cube removal.

In Figure 4, I have shown a modified construction wherein the bottom wall 2li of the tray is also molded so as to be undulating in shape. In this modification, both the side walls and the bottom wall of each compartment are concave in form. When a tray of this shape is distorted in either of the modes previously described, the peeling .action resulting from the tendency of the compartment walls to flatten out will occur on both the side faces and the bottom face of the ice cubes.

llt will thus be seen that I have provided a tray from which frozen ice cubes can be removed in very efficient manner. By shaping the walls of the ,tray in the manner described and by limitm ing the tray to a single cube width, the tray can be readily distorted so as to elect a complete separation between the walls of the tray and the ice cubes frozen therein.

I claim:

l. In combination, an ice tray formed of a nonmetallic, readily distortable material and comprising a series of compartments arranged in a row and a substantially rigid plate for support ing said tray, the tray supporting surface of plate being transversely divided into at least two dissimilarportions extending longitudinally of the plate, one of which is readily wetted by water and the other not readily wetted by water, said section not readily wetted by water being shorter in length than said tray whereby when said tray is positioned on said plate with its bottom wall contacting both of said dissimar portions of said plate and said tray and support are placed in the freezing compartment of the refrigerator and ice cubes frozen therein, said tray will adhere more firmly to the first portion of said plate than with said second portion.

2. In combination, an ice cube tray formed of a non-metallic, readily distortaole material and comprising a series of compartments arranged as a single row and a substantially rigid plate for supporting said tray, said plate having a portion at one end formed of a material to which ice will readily adhere and a portion at the other end formed of `a material to which ice l'will not readily adhere, said portions being spaced longitudinally of said plate and having a length such that when the tray positioned on the plate, the bottom wall of the tray contacts both of said portions, whereby when said support with the tray positioned thereon is placed in the freezing chamber of a refrigerator and ice cubes frozen in said tray, the adhesion between said tray and plate will be greater at said first portion than at said second portion.

3. In combination, an ice cube tray formed of a non-metallic, readily distortable material comprising a series of compartments extending longitudinally of the tray and a substantially rigi.: plate for supporting said tray, said plate having a surface portion at one end formed of a non-metallic material to which ice will not readily adhere and a surface portion at the other end formed of a metallic material to which ice will more readily adhere, said non-metallic portion forming the greatest portion of the tray supporting surface of said plate but being shorter in length than the tray whereby when said tray is positioned on said plate with its bottom wall contacting both of said surface portions of said plate and said tray and support are placed in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator and ice cubes frozen therein the metallic portion of said plate will adhere rmly 'with the supporting surface of said freezing compartment and the adhesion between said tray and piate will be greater at said metallic portion than at said non-metallic portion.

fi. An ice cube tray formed of a non-metallic, readily distortable material and shaped to provide a series of compartments arranged as a single row, at least some of the side walls of said compartments being concave inwardly and defining the walls of said tray, and a plate for supporting said tray, said plate having a portion at one end formed of a non-metallic material to which ice will not readily adhere and a smaller portion at the other end formed of a metallic material to which ice will readily adhere, said non-metali tion being shorter in length than said tray .it when the tray is positioned on the plate it contacts both of said portions, whereby when plate with the tray positioned thereon is r. sposed in a frozen condition within the freezing chamber of a refrigerator with one end of the tray and the non1uetallic portion of said plate adjacent the access opening of said freezing chamber, an outward pull on the end of said tray adjacent said access opening causes a separation of said tray from the non-metallic portion of said plate and permits the separated portion of said tra-y to stretch whereby the concave walls of said tray tend to flatten out and thereby release the ice cubes frozen in said compartments.

5. An ice cube freezing tray comprising a container formed of a non-metallic readily distortable material and having a pair of longitudinal side wallsextending continuously from one end of the tray to the other, a plurality of transversely eX- tendinf partitions connecting said side walls together and dividing said container into a plurali-ty of ice cube compartments which extend as a single row longitudinally of the tray, said transverse partitions forming the end walls of said compartments and said longitudinal side walls forming the side walls of said compartments, the side walls of each compartment being concave inwardly in a direction longitudinally of the tray, compartments being substantially the same width adjacent each end wall, whereby when the side walls of an. individual compartment are elongated they tend to flatten out and thereby rethe individual ice cube frozen in said compartment.

6. .An ice cube freezing tray comprising a container formed of a non-metallic readily distortable material and having a pair of side walls ex- 5 by one of said end walls, the side Walls of each compartment being concave inwardly in a horizontal section and the end walls of each compartment being substantially flat, whereby when side walls of an individual compartment are e1on` gated by distortion they tend to flatten out and thereby peel from and release the individual ice cube frozen in said compartment.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein the side Walls of each compartment are contoured to present to the ice cubes a convex surface extending continuously from one end wall to the other end wall of each compartment.

8. The combination set forth in claim 6 including a bottom wall on said container extending continuously from one end of the container to the other end and forming the bottom walls of said compartments, the bottom Wall of each compartment being concave inwardly in a direction longitudinally of the tray, whereby when an individual compartment is elongated by distortion, the bottom wall of said compartment tends to atten out and peel from the ice cube frozen in said compartment.

LLOYD G. CO-PEMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTSv Number Name Date 1,953,167 Geyer Apr. 13, 1934 1,988,117 Geyer Jan. 15, 1935 2,083,081 M011 June 8, 1937 2,132,879 Pownall Oct. 11, 1938 2,145,719 Geyer Jan. 31, 1939 2,418,008 Bauer Mar. 25, 1947 2,433,211 Gits Dec. 23, 1947 

